Birria Tacos With Consomme

Laura Lynch

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Birria Tacos with Consommé are made with rich, succulent beef simmered in an array of spices and Mexican chilies, then tucked into a crispy corn tortilla and dunked in divine consommé.

What is Birria?

Birria is a traditional Mexican stew hailing from Jalisco, often made with goat but also known for its beef variations.

It’s a celebration dish, but these days you don’t need a wedding or a holiday as an excuse to enjoy it. The essence of the dish lies in slow-cooking meat until it’s falling-apart tender in a flavorful sauce loaded with dried peppers, onions, garlic, and spices like Mexican oregano, cinnamon, and cloves.

The slow-cooked birria is often used in tacos, which are themselves dipped in the consomme and fried on the grill to give them a crispy, deliciousness.

» Looking for some side dishes? You might like Mexican Red Rice or Easy Cilantro Lime Rice.

Ingredients You Need

For the Birria:

• Chiles – Guajillo Chilies, New Mexican Chiles, Chile De Arbol
• Beef Roast – You can use beef short ribs, beef shank, oxtail, or goat meat if you prefer.
• Cooking Oil – Use any cooking oil type of your choice
• Small Onion – Thinly sliced
• Garlic Cloves – Chopped
• Spices: whole black peppercorns, ground cumin, ground coriander, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, dried Mexican oregano (you can use regular oregano if you need to), coarse Kosher salt and ground black pepper
• Tomato Paste – This is a thick concentrated tomato paste, not to be confused with tomato sauce, which has more liquid.
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Fresh Ginger
• Low-Sodium Beef Stock – You can use beef bone broth that you’ve made ahead of time, or you can use beef bouillon cubes and water.

For the Tacos:

• Corn Tortillas – Fresh tortillas are necessary so they are pliable and won’t break when you fold them.
• Oaxaca – This is the preferred melting Mexican cheese, but there are other types you can use, like Panela or Cotija, or in a pinch you can use Monterey Jack or Mozzarella.
• White Onion – This is optional. I don’t like raw onion, so I leave this out.
• Cilantro – Finely chopped cilantro will add a nice herbaceous finish to the tacos.
• Lime Slices

Equipment Needed

• Dutch Oven or Large Pot: Your stovetop workhorse
• Blender: For blending chiles and liquids
• Frying pan: For crisping up the tacos once you’re ready to serve

Tips for Making Birria

• You can use a pot on the stovetop to toast the chilis or use your Instant Pot! Click here for Instant Pot Birria instructions.
• The heat in the sauce comes mostly from the chile de árbol. If you don’t like it spicy, add less. If you want more heat, add more. You can also leave in more of the seeds for more spiciness.
• There’s no need to rehydrate the chilis before using them. They will rehydrate in the pot.
• If you can’t find dried chilis, there aren’t many good fresh substitutions. I highly recommend trying to find at least 1-2 types of dried chilis. Be sure to remove the seeds!

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Birria Tacos With Consomme

Birria Tacos with Consommé are made with rich, succulent beef simmered in an array of spices and Mexican chilies, then tucked into a crispy corn tortilla and dunked in divine consommé.

5 from 35 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Pressurize Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 Servings

Calories: 672kcal

Author: Laura Lynch

Ingredients

For the Birria:

• 1 dried ancho chilies
• 2 dried guajillo chilies
• 1 new Mexican dried chiles
• 1 dried chile de árbol
• 1 1/2 pounds (680 g) boneless chuck roast boneless short ribs, or goat meat, cut into 3″ chunks
• 1 teaspoons (6 g) coarse Kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoons (14 g) cooking oil
• 1/2 small onion thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoons (2 g) dried Mexican oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon (6 g) tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger peeled
• 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) low-sodium beef stock

For the tacos:

• 4 corn tortillas
• 1 cup (112 g) Oaxaca or other meltable Mexican cheese shredded
• 2 tablespoons (20 g) white onion diced
• 2 tablespoons (0.8 g) cilantro finely chopped
• Lime slices

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Instructions

• Remove the stems and seeds of all the peppers.
• Set a 5-quart pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Put the peppers in the dry pan and toast until aromatic, about 5 minutes. Remove the chilis from the pot.
• Add the cooking oil to the pot. Season the beef chunks with salt and pepper, then place them in the pot and sear for 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer beef to a plate.
• Add the onion to the pot and saute for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
• Add the bay leaves, cinnamon stick, oregano, black peppercorns, cumin, coriander, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, and ginger. Whisk to combine and saute for just 30 seconds.
• Pour in the beef stock. Deglaze the bottom of the pot to remove any browned bits.
• Return the chilis and beef to the pot. Make sure all the chilis are submerged.
• Cover with a lid and cook for 3-4 hours, until the meat is fork tender.
• Discard the bay leaf, cinnamon, and ginger. Transfer the beef to a cutting board or bowl and shred with 2 forks.
• Blend the liquid and chilis in the pot with an immersion blender. If you don’t have one, put some of the liquid and all the chilis in a blender and blend until smooth. Return to the pot.
• Add the shredded beef back to the pot. Season with salt and pepper, as needed.
• To make tacos, heat a skillet over medium heat. Dip a tortilla into the birria sauce, then place it on the skillet and cook on both sides until slightly toasted.
• Add some cheese to one side of the tortilla and some beef to the other. Close the tortilla and cook for 1-2 more minutes, until the cheese is melted.
• Transfer to a plate, garnish with onion, cilantro, and lime slices. Serve hot with a bowl of the consommé on the side for dipping.

Equipment Needed

• Dutch oven or large pot
• Blender
• Frying pan

Notes

• The heat in the sauce comes mostly from the chile de árbol. If you don’t like it spicy, add less. If you want more heat, add more.
• You can also leave in more of the seeds for more spiciness.
• There’s no need to rehydrate the chilis before using them. They will rehydrate in the pot.
• If you can’t find dried chilis, there aren’t many good fresh substitutions. I highly recommend trying to find at least 1-2 types of dried chilis. Be sure to remove the seeds!

Nutrition

Calories: 672kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 50g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 1461mg | Potassium: 1074mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 2616IU | Vitamin C: 22mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 5mg

Laura Lynch

Laura is a home cook, with 25 years experience behind the stove, who spends an extraordinary amount of time in the kitchen cooking. She loves making new recipes and finding wonderful new things to eat, both at home or abroad. She spends a lot of time researching, crafting, and perfecting her recipes.